Chances are if you’re reading this then you are in the market for a secondhand violin maybe on facebook or gumtree and why not a secondhand violin can be better than new . While I hope you’ll come and checkout what I have on offer ( and why you might buy a preloved violin from me), here is a dozen or so tips if your going to get one yourself on gumtree or facebook!
Chances are you’ll do OK, most people are pretty straight-up and honest about what they have, but they don’t actually know themselves and there is the odd bit of firewood out there masquerading as a violin. So here is my dozen or so tips on what to look out for
1. Bow – does it have more hair than me – these guys wear out. does it have the reverse curve
2. Case – scruffy is OK, structurally unsound..not Ok.
3. Open seams – fixable..but probably not by you
4. Body cracks – likely needs opening up…an expensive fix and probably not worth it
5. Endpin cracks – might be superficial…might not
6. peg action and cracks – sticky or sloppy pegs, eliptical pegs, cracks in the peg box
7. Bridge – bent? at the wrong height, badly fitted
8. Action – strings low enough to be easy to play – but not buzzing
9. Chips – cosmetic usually – but can lead to splitting down the track…get them seen too!
10. Strings – only last a year, still work after than but might be fuzzy, nt hold a note and sound not very good
11. Brand – google the brand (inside the f hole) give you an idea of if its reputable
12. Price when new. How much do you need to spend well google it. I recon about $300 + $100 per year of playing I recon is about right.
If you can have play it, and bring along another similar violin for comparison of sound (acoustics can change the sound dramatically) that will help too.
Finally don’t be afraid to ask the seller about the provenance, that is where they got it and how long they have had it . They might be embarrassed to say its third hand (but shouldn’t be), if it hasn’t seen the inside of a violin shop in a while though make sure to give it some love.
Here’s a one take video version of the above, if you have 5min or so of your life to lose. Its not fancey but you might find it helpful.